When it comes to rivalry games, predicting an outcome is darn near impossible.

Records tend to mean a little less. Statistics lose their luster. Logical thinking – for all intents and purposes – can be thrown out the window.

Unpredictability is the name of the game, but it's the one quality that makes rivalry games all the more entertaining.

So when El Dorado (0-3 this season) and Valencia High (2-1) meet in the annual Battle of the Bell on Friday night, there's really only one thing you can count on: Whichever team comes away with the win will celebrate by ringing the coveted Victory Bell for the entire community to hear.

“First and foremost it's pride for the city of Placentia,” said Mark Clinton, a 1986 El Dorado graduate and the football team's public address announcer. “A lot of these kids grew up playing with each other and against each other in Pop Warner and Junior All-American Football. So everybody really knows everybody.”

Separated by less than two miles, El Dorado and Valencia began playing one another on the gridiron in 1968. Minus a four-year hiatus in the early '80s, the Tigers and Golden Hawks have challenged each other for bragging rights for 42 years. The bell became the prize in 1999.

In terms of wins and losses, the series couldn't be any closer. Valencia holds a 21-20 series lead and is the current bell holder thanks to a 14-7 win in 2012.

“As good as the two teams are or aren't, the scores are always close,” said Valencia High Athletic Director Kevin McConnell. “It's always a barn burner to the end. Both schools get up for this game. The intensity is always so high.”

McConnell understands just how competitive these games can get. He has seen every encounter between the crosstown rivals since he was hired in 1981. Coincidentally, McConnell joined the Tigers staff the same year as a young football coach named Mike Marrujo.

Thirty-three years later, and the 62-year-old Marrujo remains the head man at Valencia, compiling 258 wins with the Tigers, good enough for third all-time in Orange County history.

“That's a big crosstown rivalry,” Marrujo said of his team's upcoming face-off against El Dorado after last week's win against Sonora. “Everyone's looking forward to it.”

The veteran coach knows exactly what he has to do to get his team prepared for Friday night. After all, he is 18-10 lifetime against El Dorado.

“His teams are never going to lose the game for you,” said El Dorado head Coach Mike Crawford. “(His players) always do their jobs, don't make mistakes and play hard-nosed football. They're a reflection of the type of coach he is.”

Unlike Marrujo, Crawford is a rookie to the rivalry game. In his first year as the Golden Hawks' head coach, Crawford's squad has struggled out of the gate, losing three games by a combined score of 105-33. Optimism remains high in the locker room, though, as last year's starting quarterback Cory Wildhagen is cleared to start Friday night against the Tigers.

And, as Crawford sees it, what better way to turn around your season than with a win against your rival?

“The guys are fired up for this game,” Crawford said.

“Especially the seniors. They don't want to go out with a loss against their rivals. So even at practice, they've been getting on the sophomores a little bit”

Because the two schools both play at Valencia High, a sellout crowd is anticipated at Bradford Stadium on Friday evening.

“Kids that don't go to football games come to this one,” Clinton said. “Even if you didn't hear the result, all you have to do is walk into one of the schools. You walk in and you don't see the bell – you don't have to ask who won.”

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